Mary-Crowley-Profile-1932

Researching a Life in Education and Architecture. Mary Medd 1907-2005

The significance of the early years and the AA in the career of Mary Medd 1907-2005
First Floor Front, 33 Bedford Square, 6.30pm

Free event. All welcome.

Mary Medd (née Crowley) was an important but, until recently, overlooked 20th century architect whose influence however was international in scope. After qualifying at the AA she spent some years on housing projects before finding her vocation designing environments supporting the education and welfare of young children. In her recently published book A life in education and architecture: Mary Beaumont Medd (Ashgate, 2013), the historian of education, Catherine Burke used a range of sources including the archives of the Institute of Education and the AA Collections. In this talk, Dr Burke will discuss Mary Medd’s important influence, first at Hertfordshire and later at the Ministry of Education, on innovative designs for school buildings in post-war Britain, and she will discuss the sources and methods used in writing her book. There will be a display and a brief talk about books, archives and images from the AA Collections that relate to Medd’s work and postwar school building.

Catherine Burke is a Reader in History of Childhood and Education at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Her research interests and projects focus on the relationship between pedagogy and building design in the history of education. She is vice president (president elect) of the History of Education Society UK and edits the Sources and Interpretations section of the Journal History of Education.

Image Mary Medd (née Crowley) profile courtesy of AA Archives

Hosted by AA Membership, this talk is part of an ongoing series of lectures organised by the AA Library, Photo Library and Archives to promote the AA’s collections and further knowledge through collaboration.

AA Collections weblinks:
AA Library aaschool.ac.uk/aalife/library/libraryIntroduction.php
AA Photo Library photolibrary.aaschool.ac.uk/index.php
AA Archives aaschool.ac.uk/aalife/library/archive.php